News

**The article below was published on 1st April 2017 as an April fools. Entirely coincidentally, Gonville and Caius college, of Cambridge, also had a very similar idea for their joke on that day, although we can't say whether they got their inspiration from us, we definitely didn't get ours from them. However, we did subsequently discover that Oxford University had beaten us to it by two years!** In a bold move, precipitated by growing concerns voiced by a number of the Cambridge University colleges about the noise pollution caused by punt poles grating along the cement bed of the river Cam, punting stalwart Cambridge River Tours has announced the introduction of the self-driving punt (not to be confused with self-hire punts). Top Secret! The announcement is the culmination of a top secret, two-year R&D project, part-funded by the Cam Conservators. Working in collaboration with Google to make use of their self-driving car technology, CRT will soon launch the first wave of noiseless, self propelled punts from their Jesus Green punt station. Proprietor Tim Campbell explains: "This technology heralds a new dawn of silent punting; our chauffeurs will be transitioning to new roles as Actualisation of Customer Experience (ACE) reps. This mean that tour groups will still benefit from the vast knowledge our chauffeurs have built up over the years; but instead of being precariously perched on the punt deck, dodging the champagne corks (and advances) of raucous hens and the like, they'll be live-streaming their patter whilst nursing an expertly made flat white. "Collisions will also be a thing of the past, as the technology will allow the punts to choose the safest and most efficient path along the river, paving the way for an immediate [...]

A few years ago now, shortly after acquiring a couple of GoPro video cameras, we decided to go out and capture the essence of punting on the river Cam… This was one of our early efforts, ironically entitled Cambridge Punting Carnage: […]

That might seem like a strange question for us to be asking, and we will admit that we already know the answer but, do you? If you're a resident of Cambridge (or, dare we mention it, the other place), then you almost certainly know what punting is. If you're a sometime/regular visitor to this city and you've read our definitive history of punting then you should also already know (unless, of course, you have a terrible short term memory). However, if you've never been to Cambridge before, or perhaps have arrived at this website seeking answers to this very question, fear not because we are here to give you the answers. It's not sport related Let's get a couple of things sorted from the off - if you're an avid Superbowl or Australian rules football fan (no, we're not going to try to explain that to anyone), or someone who likes the occasional flutter on the horses you're in the wrong place. Punting is going to mean something entirely different to you. However, those discrepancies aside, if you've ever visited Cambridge, or live in the city, or have seen pictures of people gently propelling up and down the river Cam, you might have some sort of idea of what punts are in this context. These are punts It's got nothing to do with Venice We need to clear one thing up right away. Punts are NOT gondolas, nor do they bear more than a passing resemblance to them. There has, occasionally, been the odd ice-cream selling punt on the Cam (and we were responsible for one of those, but that's a story for another time) but, largely, they are very different pursuits. However, [...]

It's January, it's cold outside, you're filled with that post Christmas, pre-spring feeling where it seems like you might be trapped in a Narnia-esque eternal winter where the sun never shines again and nothing good will ever happen again... Well, stop that now. Here are a load of good reasons why you should visit Cambridge this year, starting now. 1. e-Luminate Festival 2017 Happening again, really soon is the e-Luminate Cambridge festival. If you're not sure what that is, check out our blog post from last year's festival. This year it's on during February half term; find out more details from e-Luminate's website at https://www.cambridgelivetrust.co.uk/e-luminate 2. Punting. Obvs Yeah, okay, so we'll hold our hands up to being a tiny bit biased on this one, but trust us, going for a boat ride along the river Cam is actually amazing whatever time of year it is. Plus, in the winter it's much quieter, so just wrap up warm, bring a Thermos and some thermals and you'll be sorted. For more information on going punting with us visit this page. 3. Cambridge is beautiful Again, you might accuse us of being a bit biased here, but trust us, we've done our research and visited 'the other place' and it's not a patch on Cambridge. Still don't believe us? Have a look at our gallery, or check out this video evidence for further proof: 4. The falling £ Let's face it, the last few months haven't been great for the value of the £ compared to other currencies. If you're from the UK, then the cost of going abroad has gone up and if you're from outside of the UK then the cost of visiting the UK [...]

Wow, what a year 2016 was. In years to come, with the benefit of hindsight and water under the bridge (pun absolutely intended), I'm sure that we'll all look back on 2016 and laugh. Or cry. Or both... But for the time being, let's just look back on the year's highs and lows. Not necessarily in chronological order, not necessarily all to do with punting, and not all of them necessarily directly related to us. Think of this as a shorter, less funny, more Cambridgey version of Charlie Brooker's annual review... We were awarded a Trip Advisor certificate of excellence. Check it out: Some engineering students made a pedal powered punt We wrote our infamous What's in a name? blog post that quite a few people read and one person even commented on! William Shatner partook in a spot of punting - http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/update/2016-08-16/star-trek-star-swaps-the-enterprise-for-something-more-leisurely/ (not on one of our punts) We made a couple of videos that some people watched (not all of them related to us). There was a punting bake off - http://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2016/09/01/news/andrew-smyth-s-punt-at-bake-off-title-takes-him-through-to-the-next-round--676626/ - thanks to the creativity of a former Cambridge student We hit (over) 600 followers on both Facebook and Instagram and (nearly) 800 on Twitter More celebrity punting - http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/amanda-holden-helps-tamzin-outhwaite-9204767 We launched a page where you can find accommodation if you're planning a stay in or around Cambridge We sponsored a local football team We took loads of beautiful photos of Cambridge Cambridge City Council introduced a PSPO banning touting away from recognised punt stations in Cambridge. As we speak, unauthorised punting is still taking place - who'd have guessed it? Brexit happened Donald Trump happened As for what 2017 has in store, your guess is possibly as good as ours. Let's [...]

Trinity college punts moored under a tree If you've ever been punting before you'll have enjoyed one of the many narratives delivered by one of our talented punt chauffeurs. And if you've been punting more than once, you may have enjoyed an altogether different narrative, because such is the way with storytelling. History is a supple and fluid mistress, and in the hands of our chauffeurs she ebbs and flows with the tides of the Cam... (ok, technically the part of the Cam we punt on isn't tidal any more but go with it). With this in mind, we thought it pertinent to bring you the definitive history of punting. Don't worry though, no spoilers here, we'll save the best river folklore for on board the punts... What is punting? A punt boat, more commonly known simply as a punt, is a square-ended boat that has a flat bottom with no keel. The normal method of propulsion is by using a 5m (16ft) long pole and literally pushing against the river bed. The pole is also used to steer, either as a tiller or rudder for gentle changes of direction, or by pushing off at an angle to the punt for more advanced manoeuvring. This method of propulsion is known as "punting". History of punting Punts were developed in medieval times to provide stable craft that could be used in areas of water too shallow for rowing conventional craft. One such area was the Fens, the marshy flatlands north of Cambridge, where punts were integral to local trades such as eel fishing, reed-cutting, fowling and for transporting cargo until their use died out in the late nineteenth century. The first punts are traditionally [...]

A brief history of punting. Part I Paula Battle
2017-03-27T10:36:52+00:00

12th November 2016 On a windy, rain-swept and chilly Saturday morning the Histon Hornets U10 (Blue), welcomed Newmarket Town Youth to the recreation ground. The away game at Newmarket between these two sides was a great nip and tuck affair, with Newmarket slotting in a cheeky late winner. So today’s game between the evenly matched sides in such challenging conditions was eagerly anticipated. […]

This week, the Histon Hornets U10 (blue) team welcomed the Cherry Hinton Lions (U10) to the Histon & Impington recreation ground. On a perfect early Autumn morning, both teams were ready and raring to go – like excited flat-capped Whippets ready for the chase. […]

Mini Soccer Cup The boy’s last game saw them travel to Newmarket Town football club to play a cup match on the newly laid 3G pitch. Once the boys got over the distraction of what footwear they were permitted to wear they all got their game faces on and began the warm up. After introducing Sav (MK Dons Ladies goalkeeper) as the new member of the coaching team the boys were itching to get going. […]

Following on from a great game against Haslingfield recently, the Histon Hornets U10 boys were ready raring to go again for Saturday’s local derby against Cottenham U10. Right from the whistle Histon had one thing in mind, pass move and attack. The Histon boys had the better of the early first half exchanges. Following great team movement with the Histon defence winning the ball and passing through the midfield, Alistair picked up the ball, opened up the Cottenham defence to score a terrific goal! […]